Emily the Enigma

It's been a while..! It seems the show is either coming to an end or going on hiatus for a year. So with series 24 beginning to air in the UK (after it's aired in Australia and the US), I think it's time to look back on the most controversial of the main characters. Well, until two years ago..!

Emily was a real base breaker from the get go. One year after a trio of solid appearances, she became a main character in an attempt to push more prominent female representation, while fan favourites from the Little Western were abandoned for years. The problem is that... well, it didn’t make much of a difference. Probably because they thought it a great idea to change her personality from stern, caring mother to spoiled, bossy brat. Because, for some reason, they thought that falling back on negative female stereotypes would be a good idea.

Not only that, but they didn’t put much focus on any existing, or newly introduced, females at all. And even when they did, it was always with the caveat that the males were the true stars while the females were portrayed negatively. Molly needed Thomas’ help to feel special, Rosie was a creepy stalker and Flora was what most uncritical people believe a Disney princess to be. Meanwhile, Annie and Clarabel only spoke once or twice, Daisy was only in Calling All Engines (and, obviously, didn’t speak), Henrietta wasn’t allowed to do anything due to a lack of face and Mavis only had a few cameos here and there (her personality wasn't butchered though, so... yay?). Because of this, Emily’s move to Steam Team member couldn’t have felt any more performative if it tried.

These problems only persisted into the CG era, and were only highlighted further by the fact that she and Mavis were the only non-human female characters (besides Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta) in the show until Millie and Caitlin were introduced in 2013. 5. Years. Later. As much as misogynistic fans don’t want to admit it, the show does have a problem with female representation. Or, at least, it did until they actually started to take the problem seriously, turned Daisy into the best character of the show, introduced more female characters, balanced out the main cast (in terms of numbers, the balance is still a bit off when it comes to personality. Although that could be due to the fact that the male characters have been around from the get go rather than only three years) and giving some of the female human characters much bigger positions on the global railways (still no female crew members on Sodor, though..!).

But despite all of this, Emily still felt as though she was being left behind. For the first four years of the CG era, she didn't have her own whistle sound, continuing to borrow Henry's instead. And her starring roles weren't much to write home about either. Her Nitrogen era episodes were rather average (although, in her defence, everyone got shafted during that era), while her starring roles during the Brenner era all amounted to her trying to find her place/feel as important as her other stars. Almost as if the writing team knew what the problem was, yet had no clue how to fix it..!

Oh, and before anyone mentions it, No Snow for Thomas probably was her best role, but she was a supporting character to Thomas' story of not wanting to wear his snowplough. That said, her motherly nature, combined with some excitability and cheek, on display in that episode was great. And it was consistently great when she wasn't in the spotlight. Heck, it was even more important once Edward left the shed.

But if you want a prime example of how much Emily got shafted, she was the last member of the main cast to get a number. Even Nia and Rebecca had them from the get go! And the funniest (in a really sad way) thing about that? She got it in the last series of the show (for now, at least) in the last episode she had a major role in. Frankly, she should've been given a number either from the get go or the second it was decided that she would be in the main cast. Visually, her lack of number made her stand out like a sore thumb. And while it was nice that she was given it as a reward for her bravery rather than it popping out of nowhere, doing it so late - and giving her nothing else afterwards - feels like a massive kick in the teeth for her.

To sum up, Emily is how I've described her in the title: a total enigma. There's been a lot of things done with her, yet everything has an asterisk next to it.

• She was given two coaches, but they were non-descript due to their lack of sentience.
• She became a main character and had a personality change, yet she only had one or two starring roles to work with per series (she might have had more in series 8).
• The sheds were rebuilt to accomodate her, yet she offered nothing of value until her personality was reverted in the CG era.
• She was given a number... in her last major role to date.

Honestly, it's hard not to feel sorry for her. The fans were against her since series 8 for replacing a popular character, and that only died down when Rebecca and Nia turned up. Meanwhile, the only memorable thing the writers did with her was a mean spirited "joke" dressed as fan service in Duck and the Slip Coaches (I'll forever hate that moment). Hell, they have the perfect idea of a character for her with the motherly/sisterly dynamic she has in supporting roles. Yet every time she stars, they go with the typical "girl characters with self confidence issues" trope for... no reason, really. Meanwhile, Daisy and Marion got some amazing starring roles and they're predominantly supporting characters.

It's difficult to say what the future holds for the franchise. But if it does come back to TV with a new series or special, they really need to figure out what to do with Emily. They can change the look of her as much as they want. But until they keep the personality consistent, and they start treating her as an equal to her colleagues like they did with Rebecca and Gordon, it will continue feeling like style over substance with her.

And, frankly, a character as tenured as Emily deserves better than that.

Hugo

I usually hold off on these until the character has been properly introduced to either the US or UK (usually the latter since it's my home country) market. But this one annoyed me so much that as soon as I watched the UK dub via a Japanese source and YouTube uploads, I had to make a character analysis of Hugo now. So here it is.

WARNING: This blog post contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised

Out of all the characters released over the years, there are three that are generally considered annoying by the fans: Bash, Dash and Ferdinand. Literally just a watered down attempt at recreating the dynamic Edward, Bill and Ben once had, it simply didn't work because of how one note and stupid they were.

Other characters have been labelled annoying by certain sets of fans; Samson and Philip being the prime examples. But at least they have a strong enough reason as to why they'd act that way: Samson is proud and stubborn while Philip is a child. I would argue, however, that Hugo is the most annoying character ever conceived.

Whether or not there's a historical reason as to why the engines were being bullies towards him is up for debate (he is an oddity, but why the hell is Edward so cruel/worried about so many newbies?! First Harvey, then Rocky, now Hugo? This just isn't Edward, no matter what you say), but the fact that the main characters, who should probably realise that nothing can replace them at this point, so cruel?! There needs to be someone who's likeable, and doesn't just change their opinion on the flip of a coin because the plot demanded that happen! Even Percy, who actually ended up helping, was subtly antagonising him.

But I'm getting sidetracked. My main problem with Hugo's episodes - both of them - is the fact that he's the most pitiful, pathetic character that I've ever seen. I've said before that I didn't like Hiro's whinging back in the day, but at least he had a bloody reason to moan! What does Hugo have to cry about? And what exactly does he do to prove his worth to the railway?

The answer to both of those questions is "nothing".

He has no reason to complain whatsoever: he can carry passengers easily and he was, at one point, the fastest thing running on rails. Accentuate the positives! Maybe have him be humble when people point out his achievements. Maybe pair him with Daisy; they could've been brilliant together (and if you had her break down, Hugo would actually have had a reason to be on Sodor other than "we need another character to make merchandise from". For God's sake, you managed to create a brilliant story about glow in the dark paint, but not with a unique looking character like Hugo?!)!

But no. They just had to go down the "be happy with who you are" message that even kids are probably sick of by this point as it's being taught so often! All I kept thinking throughout his two episodes (in which, by the way, he was introduced at the beginning of each one) was "Jesus Christ, just grow up!". I'm sick of those who expect pity parties solely because they're a bit different, whether in fiction or reality.

That's not to say that there aren't things I'd love to do but can't due to what I have, but I'm not exactly moping about the fact that I can't do that stuff. Because there's a lot that I can do, I have a great circle of friends and I'm having a blast. Life's too short to bemoan what you can't do, and if Hugo actually learned this, rather than the typical "be who you are", he would've actually had a point.

But overall, he doesn't. You can see how little they cared about him as he was there... just because. Maybe it's something to do with the Earl, but this is something you need to make clear from the first episode they're in! Imagine Glynn's story if he'd been restored in The Christmas Coffeepot only to realise he's inexplicably working on the main line next episode.

There's no sense of pacing or proper narrative reasoning to Hugo's story, and when you couple that to the absolutely diabolical character he was given, I can only rate him as one of the worst in the show's history.

Bradford

No, this isn't a review of the episode (I've already done that). Instead, I'll be delving more into the character that made that episode so great. So here are my thoughts on Bradford the Brake Van!

Can I just say, from the get go, that we need more rolling stock characters? Yes, having loads of engines is fine, but they're not the only aspect of ensuring that a railway runs efficiently. You also have S. C. Ruffey and the Spiteful Brake Van, two fondly remembered characters that caused as much trouble as they possibly could. Heck, I don't think Hector was too bad either. He went through a nice character arc and ended up being James' adviser in James Works it Out.

The current team themselves have shown how well written rolling stock characters can be. Annie, Clarabel and Henrietta have been fantastic, Toad has quickly become one of my favourites after being given nothing since series 7, while the slip coaches were... pretty good. Not particularly groundbreaking characters by any means (even if that particular coach type had never been seen in the franchise before), but a solid base that they can work from in the future. And there's still Jerome and Judy waiting in the wings.

And now we have Bradford, who's already proven to be one of the best characters the series has had up to this point. Sure, his no nonsense approach is nothing new, but compared to someone like Duck, it's not as annoying as they're not forcing a catchphrase down the throats of viewers.

Not only that, but his true personality was completely unexpected. Sure, the episode description said that he was "a stickler for the rules" who could keep the trucks in order, but no one could've predicted that he'd act like someone from the military, especially since he was rather timid and uninteresting when he first arrived in the yard. It was great!

His pairing with Samson was, as I've said before, a great decision. We've seen that Samson can be stubborn and overconfident in his ability, and Bradford's is the perfect character type to keep him in order. The only problem is that his episode never really showcased that, and while I stand by my near glowing review, I can't help feeling that it would've been perfect (or as close as you can get to it) had Samson been in Thomas' place. Not only would it have given Samson some great development, but it could've delved into why their relationship is as strong as it is.

However, I don't think he'd have been as good of a character had it not been for Rob Rackstraw's fantastic performance. Something I didn't bring up in the review of The Great Race was that his characters just sounded so similar: Axel to Etienne, Raul (despite his "accent") to Nigel (that announcer). But Bradford sounds so different to any character he's voiced before, and his mannerisms have been nailed completely. It's his best performance yet (and I include his great performances as Toby), and it completes the character beautifully.

All in all, I love Bradford. He's a huge breath of fresh air, really entertaining and very well designed in pretty much every aspect (the decision to add two lamps at the front and one at the back still confuses me though). I really hope that he doesn't become this season's Slip Coaches: seen for one or two episodes, then completely forgotten about. He's far too good a character to be treated that way.

Flying Scotsman

So I held a Twitter poll a couple of days ago and, since the majority were supportive, my next two posts will be analysing the other two important international engines from The Great Race. Next time I'll be focusing on Ashima, but this one will be focusing on a TV series returnee... kind of. Anyway, Flying Scotsman!

NOTE: This blog post contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised

First off, the fact this was another Railway Series character appearing (properly as a character, rather than a plot device), it's made me wonder whether this is becoming tradition to include a once book exclusive character each year. If so, I'm hoping for Bear, if only to boost large diesel numbers.

Secondly, the more I reflect on his personality in the books, the more I think that it's really dry. It feels like Awdry focuses on the fact he's still around, as well as having a catch up with Gordon, rather than actually giving him his own character. That said, at least it's better than what he was given in series 3 of the show.

Now I'm not going to rant about series 3 like I did in 2011 as I've realised that I was way too harsh towards it. However, I do still believe that Tender Engines isn't really the best from that series. Even discounting the fact that the first half completely lacked the emotion that the original had, Scotsman's appearance was very disappointing. Only showing his rear end (which, weirdly, modelled him with two coal tenders rather than one for coal and another for water while lacking the corridor compartments) and a bit of the cab was a let down, especially in a series that included a beautiful model of City of Truro. I know that they lacked the budget to finish the model, but if you're going to include something that's major to a story, wouldn't you put the money aside for it?

Another disappointment is that Flying Scotsman was treated more as an outsider rather than Gordon's relative. Whatever the reason is for that is unknown, but considering the series ended up in a "magical universe" by the time Britt left, I can't really say I'm surprised; relating one of the world's most famous real life locomotives with a fictional one would screw up her vision (not having a go, just hypothesising).

In The Great Race, though, I feel that the team actually had him live up to the potential that he has as a character, rather than just there to reminisce or to be a plot point. His exposition gets the plot going and, even though he's missing for around half an hour after that, they don't drop the ball with him, even if they do with the actual plot.

His main characteristic is having a sibling rivalry with Gordon, although he still has a gentle, caring side like an actual big brother. It made me really gravitate towards the dynamic as I know that my brother and I have a similar one. Granted, it took me two watches to figure this out, but after the first one, my head was so scrambled that I couldn't really put my feelings of the special into words.

I think the only negative that I have towards his character is that, when Gordon breaks down (which loses all significance as he manages to get back to Sodor under his own power regardless), Scotsman doesn't stop to help his brother out, which is a huge shame as, a few seconds before, he was warning Gordon that something was wrong. So it leads to a confusing turn for his character: does he only care for Gordon up to a point? Did he care more about winning the race solely for bragging rights? If so, that seems rather immature for a bigger brother... I really do think he should have gone back, rescued Gordon, then let the two have a heart to heart on the way back to the yard. I feel that it could have led to great character development for both whilst providing another great moral for kids.

The other issue I have is with his design. And before anyone says it, I've no issue with the smoke deflector/double tender combo. There have been some complaints about it because "the real thing never had that", but I really don't care. It's quite nice that they decided to add two different eras of the locomotive into one render. Oh, and I've no problem with the smoke deflectors moving either. If I complained about that, I'd probably have to complain about the fact he has a face. It's Thomas & Friends for goodness sake; there has to be some suspension of disbelief somewhere.

No, my real problem is that his livery application and tender design feel rather... slapdash. Both tenders have only 6 wheels rather than 8, and while I love the green livery, it feels like he was modelled to be a TV series character rather than an actual locomotive. Compare the render to the Railway Series illustrations of him and you'll see where I'm coming from. The plain white lining that feels straight from the ERTL toy, the plain red running board, the plain green wheels. All of it seems more like a work in progress rather than a finished render. Also, as a nitpick, why was there a tail lamp where the corridor compartment should be? Couldn't they have put two on either side of it or something?

Overall though, I'm really happy that they decided to include Flying Scotsman in the whole spectacle, and I'm delighted that they gave him a bit of character. Sure, his design isn't as great as it could be, but if his TV series-style design choices mean that he'll be the only international engine from The Great Race to actually appear more as time goes on, I can live with them.

Except the 6 wheeled tenders. They need an extra axle...

Philip (After the Fact)

When the Start Your Engines! DVD trailer was revealed, I wrote a post (now removed) about my initial thoughts on this little boxcab. But now that I've seen his two episodes and The Great Race, I think it's time to see just how much my opinion on little Philip has changed!

NOTE: This blog post contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised

In the old post, I praised Philip for being a diesel shunter that looked a bit different, and considering there were three new class 08s seen in The Gtrat Race, that opinion has only strengthened. Yes, class 08s were in abundance on BR's books back in the day, and there are still quite a few around today, but it's becoming tedious for the writers to rely on them when thinking of new diesel shunters for the show. So seeing a little boxcab like Philip is a breath of fresh air, even if the show would benefit more with a couple of larger diesels here and there.

Another aspect that I praised was his voice and, again, I still believe that it's very fitting for the kind of character Philip is. Rasmus Hardinker does an excellent job bringing out Philip's childlike wonder and excitement in his voice in the same way the animators do a great job bringing that out visually.

However, the poor little guy came crashing down with The Little Engine who Raced Ahead, where he spends the majority annoying Gordon (and the audience) whist the other engines just appease his whims because... he's a childlike character? It's like I said in the review of this episode; Philip seems to have been based on the average child from this generation: one that still has a wonder about them, but they seem much more "in your face" due to lack of discipline or consequence for their actions. Granted, he was called out for being unsafe, something he took to heart, but his other traits remained the same.

His attitude didn't improve in Philip to the Rescue either. I'm not going to say that he was fully responsible for the accident that took place, as James should have known better than to let a little engine get to him after 32 years. However, I will say that he was a major catalyst for James' actions due to his annoying temperament. Had he been taught better, he would have mellowed out by the time this episode came around.

And then The Great Race came around. And, while I don't necessarily forgive his personality in his episodes, it made me realise exactly what the problem was: he has been written terribly throughout the show, as if Andrew Brenner doesn't really understand childlike characters (and, considering he played a huge part in The Cramp Twins, it's not a far-fetched assumption). Yes, he did a great job with Thomas in The Adventure Begins, but you can't really go wrong when you have the source material at your disposal.

So in TGR, Philip makes snide remarks about Ashima saying "she'll be trouble" - although, in fairness, some kids do end up making remarks when it comes to new (or existing) friends and family. This is resolved when she helps him against Vinnie, which was some nice, subtle development.

I also quite liked that the one time his "race" against Gordon was brought up, Percy remarks that Gordon didn't actually race, forcing him to get defensive. It feels very childlike without feeling too annoying, which is something that would have hugely benefited his episodes.

But... his positive developments are completely stifled by his confrontation with Vinnie. I won't go into too much detail with the climax of that little screw up, and the unfortunate implications that came from it, because I've already written a post about that. However, I will state that, throughout the story, the only reason Vinnie goes after him is because he accidentally gets in the way. And I mean legitimate accidents. And the sad thing is that he doesn't retaliate. Like I've said, I get the fear, but I think the overall moral would have been stronger if he'd have stood up for himself before he was helped out.

Overall, I think that Philip is a character with great potential and, in all honesty, there is a charm to him when they get him right. But each positive gets cancelled out with some huge missteps which end up making fans feeling more annoyed with him than drawn to him. I just hope that they iron out all of his flaws in the next series before it's too late and he becomes truly irredeemable...

Vinnie

I don't usually do a full on critique of a future character like this, but because The Great Race has been shown in cinemas, and I don't think I can keep my feelings towards this character bottled up until September, here's what I think of Vinnie!

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Great Race, as well as strong language. Reader discretion is advised

I want to say from the get go that I'm not against the idea of a steam engine antagonist. In fact, with all of the goody goody steamers on the show, a dedicated antagonist would be a huge breath of fresh air. However, what I'm against is a villain (any sort of villain) doing evil deeds for little to no reason. That's why I've always thought that Diesel has been the best antagonist the franchise has had: nine times out of ten, his actions have solid reasoning behind them (Dirty Work and Diesel Does it Again being prime examples).

It's also why I've never been a fan of Diesel 10; his main antagonistic roles have either been stupid (if he'd have destroyed Lady, he'd have surely killed himself, too) or downright petty (The Missing Christmas Decorations). The only time he was a threatening villain was in Day of the Diesels, but that was stifled by so many other problems that he couldn't have been savoured there, either.

The only time they tried with a steam powered antagonist was Spencer in Hero of the Rails which was, actually, almost there. The only problem there was that we're never told anywhere why he wants Hiro scrapped, and his cold, calculating behaviour is only really there because the plot demanded it as they didn't want to put in more resources to make a new character to fit that role. At least Sailor John's vendetta was explained in his character bio on the official website.

And then we come to Vinnie.

I'm gonna be frank, Vinnie is an arsehole. Not the kind that you love to hate like Diesel, nor a comedic villain like Diesel 10. Every time I see him on screen, I just imagine him burning in a fire. No other character ever has gotten that reaction out of me, and the fact he's a one-off is a huge relief as I don't think I could handle any more of him.

Look, I hate characters who throw their weight around, bullying smaller ones constantly, as it is. But with Vinnie, the feeling surrounding him is much worse than any other character of this type. Simply put, he's an American stereotype that seems to have been written by a Brit whose opinion of Americans stems from bad TV shows and tabloid newspapers rather than actually talking to some real Americans. Only it was written by a man who was born in Florida.

Not only that, but his whole character arc leads to nothing. With the way he acts in the trailer towards Thomas, you'd think that he'd end up learning something about how useful smaller engines can be. But no. His nastiness in the trailer only leads to him bullying Philip. And it was their conflict that made me realise the problem with the little boxcab: he's been written so poorly throughout his time on the show, to the point where I feel sympathy for him. But I may end up doing a post about that in the future.

Anyway, at the show, Vinnie competes in the strength test (which means that the Wooden Railway line referring to him as "Racing" Vinnie is stupid, but that's beside the point) and, once that's over - by the way, we never know who won that competition, only that Henry came last - he ends up tormenting Philip and almost forces him into a turntable well. And it's here where the moral (which, in every other area, has great execution) loses some of its oomph, to the point where it could lead to some unfortunate implications.

Now I'm not going to say that Philip's reactions to Vinnie aren't understandable; the boxcab's almost ant-sized compared to Vinnie. However, if they wanted to teach kids to be proud of who you are and not let anything get to you, the logical thing to do would be to have Philip stand up for himself and, at the very least, try and force him back. But no, it had to be Thomas and Ashima doing all the work whilst Philip cowered and, once he was out of the way, trundled off taunting the huge engine despite doing nothing. What would he have done if they weren't there? Hell, what would that teach kids to do if they were in a similar situation when there's no one else around?

Yes, Vinnie does end up getting some sort of comeuppance (hitting an electronic pylon), but his attitude remains exactly the same, meaning he's learned nothing either. Then again, why should he? The only reason he left Philip alone was because two other engines saved him and the boxcab ran off. Maybe if Philip had been more brave, there would've been a better pay off than a slight tap into a pylon?

Overall, Vinnie is one of the worst characters the show has ever produced, if not the worst. At least Lady has some charm to her when you take a step back. Vinnie's just a hateful, American stereotype.

Lady

Out of all the characters that have been seen throughout Thomas' 69 year history, the only one I truly hate is Lady. The new team are starting to win me over with Charlie, and while Flora's just there to make Toby look less special, she's been forgotten about since her introduction. Heck, I don't really hate the Logging Locos! That doesn't mean that I like them per se, but I only really dislike them (even if I've said I hated them in the past).

So why don't I hate them, yet I do hate Lady? Well I shall now explain!

Lady was introduced in Thomas and the Magic Railroad, a movie that has no right to be called a Thomas and Friends film. It had nothing to do with Thomas' roots to the point where the character that started it all - Edward - was completely absent! And, of course, the American influences throughout. But as well as that, Lady's role was pointless! She was, in anthropomorphic character terms, unconscious for 90% of the film, yet things ran as normal, and the engines could still talk. The only thing that had withered was a railway in an alternate dimension! And the portal for said railway made no sense either! Seriously, if Lady was in such a poor condition, surely it wouldn't work in the first place! And that's not even mentioning how stupid the magic buffers idea was! Say what you want about Misty Island, but at least the producers connected it to Sodor in ways that could make sense realistically!

And then, there's her design... What is she even meant to be based on? Yes, Thomas and Friends is fictional, but every character before and since has been based on a real life locomotive, either loosely or a practical carbon copy. Heck, Stanley's a hybrid of two locomotives, and even he has the essence of what the Awdrys were aiming for with character design. And he was created in the Sam Barlow era! The same could be said for Bash, Dash and Ferdinand! Yes, they're American designs, but at least they're actually based on real locomotives! Do you see what I'm getting at here? Lady is far too fictional to fit in! At least, that's what I think.

I would talk about her persona next, but... does she even have one? The only thing she talks about is magic, and she added nothing to the story except the obligatory Hollywood style chase scene! Yeah, it was fun to watch, but in the long term it was absolutely pointless since Diesel 10 was seen in future projects! Even Rosie has more of a personality, and she's basically a female stereotype! That said, other characters between series 9-12 had no personality either, but they were more forgettable than anything. As for the Logging Locos? They were annoying and moronic, but that was part of their personalities! Fair enough, they're not the best traits to have, but it's still more than Lady had..! I could see where the production team were coming from with the Logging Loco; it seemed like they wanted to copy Edward, Bill and Ben's dynamic, but they weren't too sure what made said dynamic work in the first place. With Lady? I can see nothing, apart from a token female lead to keep the politically correct world we live in happy...

So in conclusion, yes. I hate Lady. She is the worst female character on the show (and with a female stereotype like Rosie around, that's an accomplishment) and the worst character overall. She was just a pointless cash-in to try and give some semblance of logic to Britt Allcroft's Shining Time Station send off. She had absolutely no potential - to be honest, I believe that HiT only included her in Calling All Engines! because they thought it would be good fan service - and she looks too fake to be a Thomas and Friends character. If you like her, leave your thoughts below as to why you feel that's the case (and before you say it, being the first female steam engine means nothing when you have the personality of a scrubbing sponge).